June school holidays. Our youth gathered together for a fun youth retreat. The theme was “Developing Healthy Self-Esteem.” We had games, activities, lessons, and food. Our youth had lots of fun learning to be proud of themselves.

To view photos, click on the fb icon on the top right corner of the collage.

“For lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure.” Proverbs 11:14

Have you ever felt that your leadership does not matter? Have you ever wondered if mentoring is important? Have you questioned yourself if it is a waste of time guiding others and providing a safe group for them to talk. After all, your mind tells you that people grow by themselves. It is the individual that makes the effort to grow.

So wrong! Your presence does matter. Yes, it is up to the individual to make his own effort to grow. But every individual will eventually hit his limit. There is only so much one person can do. But when you add in a mentor, a coach, a leader, a facilitator, and a safe group, something happens. Relational energy transpires. We see it in sports: A talented athlete breaks through his personal barriers through the training of his coach. We see it in schools: an underachieving student excels through the support of his teacher. We see it in business: a company’s profit goes up with a synergised team.

Your presence and Godly leadership with your group is crucial for growth. Additionally, the participation of your members as safe advisers to each other further fuels one another’s growth.

As the scripture says, “…many advisers make victory sure.” Take it from the greatest Mentor of all. Your presence matters.

Youths sharing what they learned from the bible during the Dec 2016 Y2Y Changi Aloha Retreat in Singapore. Three videos – Group 1, 2, and 3. Sharing is in chinese language. I appreciate their courage. Some of them were as young as 12 years old. But they shared with convictions.

Jovial, just like his name, is a youth who is full of joy and laughter. He has been studying the bible for almost a year to learn what it means to follow Jesus. The one thing that I appreciate about him is his humility. Whenever we point out to him things that he has to repent of, he quickly makes the effort to change.

Xavier started to diligently study the bible about a year ago. According to Pang, his mentor, Xavier was eager. He would travel anywhere just to meet Pang to do his bible studies. One of his biggest challenge was to be courageous to face any form of persecution. On Jan 15th, Xavier made the decision to be bold to make Jesus the Lord of his life.

We celebrate the New Year with Joshua when he made Jesus Lord of his life. I appreciate Joshua for his eagerness to learn and change. He frequently asked to study the bible so that he can know God better. His mother noted that he has more positive attitudes at home. Below are the videos of the sharing for Joshua and his baptism.